William a



(No Model.)

W. A. HULBERT.

MAILING VESSEL 0R CASE,

No. 359,212. Patented Mar. 8, 1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM A. IIULBERT, OF BROOKLYN, NE? YORK.

MAILING VESSEL OR CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 359,212, dated Mar-eh 8, 1887.

Application filed December 13, 1886. Serial No. 221,407. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. HULBERT, of Brooklyn,Kings county,State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mailing Vessels or Cases, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce and furnish to the trade a neat, cheap, and ornamental case or vessel which shall be durable, water-tight, and very light in weight, and it is especially designed to inclose and protect bottles and thelikecontaining liquids, so that they may not be broken or injured when sent from place to place through the mail.

Numerous articles have been devised to meet the requirements of the Post-Office Department for sending bottles containing liquids through the mail; but for several reasons such articles have been rejected by the Department, and therefore it has not allowed anything of the sort to be sent through the mail.

In order to meet the requirements of the postal service, it is necessary that the vessel or case intended for such use should be absolutely water-tight and of sufficient strength to stand the rough handling it is subjected to in the mail, so as not to be broken or crushed during its transmission.

The vessel or case which is the subject-mat t-er of this application is light, cheap, durable, and absolutely water-tight, and it is believed will fully meet the requirements of the postal service and the demands of the trade, and therefore permit in the future the sending of liquids through the mail, which will be a great convenience, saving, and benefit to the public.

I have found from practical experience that the best results are obtained from cases made cylindrical in form, similar to those shown and described in Letters Patent Nos. 259,899 and 268,709, owned by me. In these two patents the vessel or case consists of a body and cover spirally corrugated throughout, thereby forming screw-threads both externally and internally; but it is manifest that the same may be corrugated in part only with equally as good results. In handling these cases I have discovered that there is more or less liability of the case being bent, crushed, or damaged at the point where the two parts meet-w. 6., the point of j uncture--and for this reason the cases when thus damaged are of no use and are a dead loss. It therefore becomes necessary and desirable to support and protect the cases at this point, so as to prevent any crushing or injury. To this end I combine with this cylindrical case or vessel an internal supporting ring and inclose the whole as thus constructed in a block of wood or other suitable material in a manner which can best be explained and understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a longitudinal section of a case or vessel made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section showing the case inclosed in the external block. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the ring and cover in their relative position. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the ring.

In the accompanying drawings, A indicates the body of a cylindrical case, and B the cap or cover,of similar form. These two parts are made in accordance with the two aforesaid Letters Patent, and are separably. united, so as to be adj ustable relative to each other, by which terms in this specification I mean that the parts may be secured together with the ends of the case at a greater or less distance apart, as may be desired. A screw-thread, as shown, is the preferred means for such union.

0 is a ring, made preferably of light wood, and is provided with screw-threads D for a portion of its length and made perfectly plain for the remainder, as seen in the drawings. An aperture, E, is formed in its center, into which the neck of the bottle will enter when placed in the case and the two parts screwed together. The ring can be easily unscrewed and removed from the cap by grasping it on the inside. The plain portion of ring G should be smaller in diameter than the screw-threaded portion, so as to form an annular space, a, (when the ring is in position in the cover,) of a width sufficient for the entrance ofthe body A of the case.

To render the device absolutely water-tight is the object of forming the ring 0 larger at the upper portion of its diameter, as seen in the drawings. In this way the rim of the body A will hug tightly the ring 0 when the parts A and B are in position. This ring should be of a length sufficient to protrude below the rim IOO of the cover 13, or at any rate extend down flush with the same, so as to fully support and brace the body and cover at their point of juncture. It will now be understood, assuming that the ring Ois imposition in the cap B, that upon screwing the two parts A and B together the rim of body A will come in contact with the enlarged screw-threaded portion of the ring 0-, and thereby form an absolutely water-tight joint.

To further guard against any danger of the bottle being broken or the case being crushed, and to fully meet the requirements of thepostal service, I employ a block, F, of light wood or other suitable material, made preferably of square shape, provided with a circular aperture for the reception of the vessel or case hereinbefore described. Care must be taken to see that the aperture F is made of a size and form to correspond with and to receive and snugly hold the vessel or case. In this way the bottle and case will be held comparatively tight and firm; but to render it more secure and firm it may be held in place in the case by packing it with paper, shavings, or the like around the sides and bottom.

In conclusion, I would state that I do not restrict myself to the precise way illustrated for securing the ring in the cover, as numerous ways. would suggest themselves to one skilled in the art without departure from my invcn tion.

Having fully described my invention,what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. A case or vessel consisting of two parts adjustably secured upon one another, an d a cylindrical block bored at its centerasuitable depth and secured in the interior of one of said parts with its opening toward and constituting a portion of the interiorof the case,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A case or vessel consisting of two parts adjustably secured upon one another and a ring or annular block removably secured in the interior of said case or vessel, said ring extending to the lower edge of the cover and being adapted to support and brace thesaid parts at their point ofjuncture, substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

3. A case consisting of two parts adjustably jointed upon one another and a block having a cavity or aperture in its inner side and secured in one of said parts with its outer Wall adjacent to the inside of the joint, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. A case or vessel consisting of a cylindrical receptacle capable of adjustment to change its capacity and a ring enlarged a suitable distance on its periphery to fit snugly in said receptacle and smaller at its'free end, substantially as and for the purposes specified. 5. In a case orvessel consisting of two parts capable of adjustment upon one another, an internal ring provided with a screw-thread portion and a plain portion, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of December, 1886.

VM. A. HULBERT.

Witnesses:

DANL. LU TOWER, M. H. HULnERT. 

